A Few Words About A few words about...™ Dracula (1979) - in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Harry-N]

With the issue of the blurriness on the color version, I've sort-of forgotten my biggest misgivings about this release: the timing. Here we are at Thanksgiving, the official start of the whole Ho-Ho-Ho season, and this "horror" release would have been more at home as an October release. But that's minor. I'm happy it's finally here, but wish it were perfect. Sigh.

 

[marcco00]

i think now that i will put this title on the back burner and buy it before next halloween. maybe Shout Factory will fix by then or i can catch a sale. i'm double dipping on the desaturated version and really am buying again only for the full color version.

Oooo the money i have spent over the years for your monster movies Universal!!!

 

[Felix Martinez]

That's always what I assumed as well, though she was pretty "vamped-out" for her not to have been fully-turned. It didn't bother me so much. I look at it like I look at any work containing a creature from folklore in that, although there are certain "rules" that frequently appear concerning their strengths and weaknesses, these often change depending upon the author. Heck, what we now commonly refer to as Zombies, post-Romero, are a far cry from their origins in folklore. There have been so many Dracula films over the years, but very few of them adhere closely to the novel, so I'm willing to give Badham a break on this one.

I could have sworn I read somewhere, or maybe I heard it from an interview with Badham, that the cross falling into the pool of water blessed it, allowing for the reflection revealing the vampire. Creative!

 

[Johnny Angell]

I could have sworn I read somewhere, or maybe I heard it from an interview with Badham, that the cross falling into the pool of water blessed it, allowing for the reflection revealing the vampire. Creative!

Sounds like a liturgical loophole.

 

[warnerbro]

Yes, there is a long blurry section in the color version, but the desaturated version is razor sharp during this same section! I recommend you just turn up your color on the desaturated version. It looks much brighter and sharper. The color version looks like something they found in someone's garage. And why can't Badham reveal who Langella couldn't stand working with? By not revealing it, we might assume the wrong person. He also said Kate Nelligan did not enjoy the experience either and wouldn't comment on it.

 

[Will Krupp]

Yes, there is a long blurry section in the color version, but the desaturated version is razor sharp during this same section! I recommend you just turn up your color on the desaturated version.

I, on the other hand, would recommend making "do" with the "best available" second reel elements on the theatrical since the original colors cannot be reconstructed by turning up the color on the digitally manipulated version. It would be nice if it matched the sharpness of the other disc but, alas, it doesn't. It's still preferable, IMO, to finally have it with the original color timing. I can put up with the softness during the second reel and let my brain correct the issue.

Shout told us right up front that the color version was scanned at 4k using the best available original elements. This is the result so I'm not sure why people are waiting for Shout to "fix" something that they don't consider a problem and WOULD have fixed it in the first place if they COULD.

 

[Alan Tully]

The best available original elements, that a bit of a weasel term, so what were they? I'd think it was the interpositive, but then I'd think that they would have used the same interpositive for the original transfer, but everyone was very keen on over sharpening the image up in those days. As for the blurry bit, who knows, maybe it was fixable, but at what price? There is a budget on all this stuff, esp. if Shout paid for it themselves.

 

[Harry-N]

This is the result so I'm not sure why people are waiting for Shout to "fix" something that they don't consider a problem and WOULD have fixed it in the first place if they COULD.

When an issue like this is first encountered, one can't tell whether it's an error, a fault in mastering, or what it might be. As this is a discussion forum, it seems like a place to discuss an issue like this.

If this is the best that can be managed, then I'll ultimately be OK with it. But if it turns out to be some kind of error, isn't it better that it be brought up rather than shoved under the carpet?

 

[Will Krupp]

When an issue like this is first encountered, one can't tell whether it's an error, a fault in mastering, or what it might be. As this is a discussion forum, it seems like a place to discuss an issue like this.

If this is the best that can be managed, then I'll ultimately be OK with it. But if it turns out to be some kind of error, isn't it better that it be brought up rather than shoved under the carpet?

I certainly never said (or even implied) it should be "shoved under the carpet" and we ARE discussing it. I said that waiting for Shout to "fix" the softness of the second reel, given the disclosure of the pre-release materials, is likely a fool's errand.

 

[Harry-N]

I would be happy if Shout at least addressed the issue with a statement. And they still may. I'm very patient. You're probably correct in that there's nothing that CAN be done. But I'd like to hear that from Shout.

 

[Harry-N]

I've had a bit of a change of mind about this issue. I had occasion to sit down and actually watch the full color version today and the total experience was better than I'd thought it would be. While the degraded section is a little less sharp, the colors are still vibrant and the movie is still as good as ever.

I now think my earlier opinions were a bit harsh. Perhaps I've mellowed, but I'm overall happy that I have this release.